1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to load handling devices for the trucking industry and more particularly to a stowage means for locking load bars.
2. Description of the Related Art
Locking load bars are in common use in the trucking industry for the purpose of preventing inadvertent shiftings of cargo during transportation. These load bars can be readily damaged if they are improperly handled following their use, and their unavailability because of damage can lead to operational delays or cargo damage.
The stowage of locking load bars and similar elongate hardware is a very old problem that has been solved in a variety of manners. U.S. Pat. No. 438,735 by C. A. and J. H. Miller, Oct. 21, 1890 discloses a rack for tools with multiple mounting slots on a backing with a reciprocable looped retention bar across the outlet of the slots. The retention bar is attached to a first side of the backing by a pin serving as a keeper. When the bar is pulled away from the outlet of the slots, stowed tools can be accessed. Extension of the bar through a close fitting opening on the second side of the backing permits selectably locking the bar in a position wherein the stowed tools cannot be removed from the slots. This device can be difficult to load, as the tools are not retained until the locking bar is engaged in the opening on the second side of the backing.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,657,889 by B. M. Smalley, Nov. 3, 1953 discloses a rack structure consisting of multiple spaced apart transverse ears mounted on a backing, wherein the ears are penetrated by coaxial holes on a single axis parallel to the backing. An elongated pin extends through the holes and serves to retain objects mounted on the pin and placed between the ears. The pin is retained by a cotter key, which is time consuming and often awkward to use. This rack structure is rigidly mounted on a support by semi-permanent fasteners.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,284 by G. W. Grossman, Mar. 19, 1974 consists of a pin mounted backing member having multiple offset transverse ears, wherein the ears are penetrated by coaxial holes on a single axis parallel to the backing near their distal ends. The pin is supported on a structural base and has its axis horizontal or with its outer tip slightly upturned. Each pair of adjacent ears, together with the backing, form a slot for engaging a tool or similar item for storage. When the backing member is engaged over the fixedly supported mounting pin, a lock can be inserted and diametrically placed at the outer tip of the mounting pin in order to retain items engaged in the slots. This device, while straightforward in construction, is somewhat difficult to load, particularly for more than one vertical item.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,805 by C. Tamez et al., May 5, 1987 describes a device specifically intended to store locking load bars in a vehicle. The device is permanently or semi-permanently mounted in a vehicle. It consists of a base that provides a receptacle for engaging multiple vertical load bars on their lower ends, a vertical support, and an upper holder having multiple slots on a backing bar. A hinged closure plate with a latch means provided serves to retain the load bars in the slots of the upper holder. The closure plate may have a vertical axis or a horizontal axis hinge. This device is heavy and configured for rigid permanent or semi-permanent mounting.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,601 by R. E. Carter, et al., Oct. 1, 1991 describes a device for the horizontal storage of multiple locking load bars. The device consists of two identical dependent spaced apart vertical support plates having multiple horizontal laterally opening slots on an outward side. Each plate has a horizontal axis hinged closure plate lapped onto and mounted at either an upper or a lower end of the parallel slots. The length of the closure plates is the same as that of the support plates, and at the unhinged end of the closure plate is an aperture that aligns with a corresponding aperture in its support plate for locking. The closure plates may have slots corresponding to those of the support plates. Loading and unloading of the locking load bars into the slots is simple, but the permanent mounting of the storage device itself is relatively complex.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,810 by G. Jones, Oct. 29, 1991 discloses a device very similar to the device described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,601. The device consists of two identical spaced apart elongate support members having multiple laterally opening slots on an outward side. Each support member has a horizontal axis hinged closure member mounted to be coplanar with the support member at a first end of the parallel slots. The length of the closure members is the same as that of the support members, and the closure members have slots corresponding to those of the support members. At the unhinged second end of the closure member is an outwardly extending tang having a transverse hole. A swinging loop hinge mounted in a transverse hole at the second end of each support member may be rotated to engage over the tang so that a lock can be inserted through the tang hole. The slots are lined with resilient inserts for protection of the locking load bars. Loading and unloading of the locking load bars into the slots is simple, but the permanent mounting of the storage device itself is relatively complex.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,226 by J. W. Daves, Apr. 11, 1995 consists of two vertical spaced apart wall mounted troughs having opposed open sides adjacent their vertical mounting surface. The upper end of a first trough has an outwardly opening horizontally hinged door on its side opposed to its mounting side. The second trough has a closed upper end. The distance between the interiors of the closed vertical sides of the troughs, which are perpendicular to the mounting wall, is slightly more than the length of the locking load bars to be stowed horizontally. The bars are inserted by first positioning the bar in a vertical plane inclined relative to the mounting surface for the support device. With the first end of the bar positioned in between the opposed troughs, the first end can then be moved to the outer side of the second trough that is perpendicular to the mounting surface. The second end of the bar is then entered into the first trough through its opened door. Unloading of the bars proceeds in a reverse manner to loading. The disadvantages of this device are first the unavoidable lifting and bending associated with unloading and loading bars into the device and second the possible entanglement of the unseparated bars in the troughs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,473 by J. A. Larkum, Jul. 25, 1995 describes a set of equispaced vertical upwardly opening slotted tubes mounted on a base member. All of the slots are oriented the same direction and open perpendicularly to the vertical common midplane of the tubes. Offset towards the slots from the vertical common midplane of the tubes are coaxial horizontal holes penetrating the tube walls near the upper end of the slots. An elongated rod having a transverse bend at a first end and a diametrical through hole at a second end can be inserted to retain items in the tubes. The items are elongated members which can fit their ends into the tubes and which have radial projections intermediate to their length that can be engaged in the bottom of the slots and thereby entrapped by the elongated rod. In the case of locking load bars, the tubes for a structure of this type would typically be made much shorter than the heavy bars in order to minimize lifting during handling. The tubes would have to be sufficiently larger than the main body of the bars in order both to accommodate end fittings on the load bars and to ease stabbing and removal. As a result, using this device to store the load bars result in significant movement at the unrestrained upper ends of the bars.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,846 by J. E. Davis et al., Aug. 29, 2000 is for a device similar to a retractable seat belt. In one version of the device, it can be engaged both at its housing end and at its distal belt end to a standard E-track slot. The E-track system consists of elongated strips having a regular pattern of punched rectangular slots that may be selectably engaged and disengaged by comateable connectors. These E-track strips typically are mounted to vertical surfaces on the interior of van bodies so that load restraining members can be releasably mounted in available slots in the E-track strips.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,141 B1 by G. A. Ehrgott, Apr. 2, 2002 describes a system of brackets mounted to an E-track strip, using a spring-loaded release lever that is comateable to the E-track strip. The brackets shown can mount multiple objects in an array extending outwardly from the surface of the fitting engaged in the E-track. The brackets do not themselves retain the stowed members.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,327 B1 by R. Mietlicki, May 28, 2002 describes a device for the mounting of brooms, wherein the broom is provided with a tang at a first end for the engagement of the tang into the slot of a wall mounted lower member. The upper portion of the broom shaft is engaged between two spaced apart horizontally extending plate ears mounted to a wall at a first end and each having a coaxial distal transverse hole. The broom is provided vertical support and lateral location through engagement of its tang, while lateral restraint of the broom shaft is provided by the ears and a lock engaged through the holes of the ears. The required attachment of a tang to the stowed item is a significant disadvantage.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,736,300 B2 of R. Deakin, May 18, 2004 describes a set of U-shaped brackets with their open ends extending upwardly mounted onto a frame atop a vehicle. The brackets are connected to the frame by means of U-bolts engaged around the frame and extending through holes in the bottoms of the brackets. After an elongated item or an elongated portion of an item of is stowed nested into the brackets, a keeper pin is inserted in coaxial transverse holes in the opposed upper ends each of the brackets. The keeper pins are L-shaped with a bend at a first end and a diametrical hole at a second end. The keeper pin itself is retained by a cotter pin or spring pin in its diametrical hole. The use of the cotter or keeper pins is inconvenient, since such small separate items are easily lost or misplaced.
While this particular area of art is very old and has a lot of potential solutions represented by the cited patents, it is evident that there is a need for a stowage means for elongated items such as locking load bars that is easy to load and unload.
Additionally, there is a need for a stowage means that can be attached to existing systems of the E-track mountings installed in trucks and vans.
Furthermore, there is a need for stowage means for multiple similar items wherein the items can be installed sequentially with the previously stowed items fully retained so they will not fall over.